Friends and foes of the anti-union bills working their way through the Legislature may want to look at Gov. Jan Brewer’s record with public safety unions before they dub her the Scott Walker of the West.

A major push is underway in Arizona to strike at the very heart of public unions by eliminating their ability to negotiate collective bargaining agreements. As envisioned, the prohibition would extend to all public-safety unions, including firefighter and police associations.

In a state not regarded as a bastion for labor, Arizona union activists are visiting the State Capitol in Phoenix to urge lawmakers to reject majority Republicans' bills on union activities and other issues.

A state lawmaker wants to limit how unions can protest during labor disputes, offering a bill to ban picketing intended to coerce a company or its employees and to help employers bring defamation suits when workers spread untrue information.

House Speaker Kirk Adams said today that he is willing to hear the concerns of unions and other groups that may have concerns about his pension reform bill, as long as they don’t compromise his vision of “real reform.”